Description
The Surfaces panel provides tools for adjusting the display style within the
Automatic Surface Mesh command, for assigning specific target edge lengths on a
per-quilt basis, and for specifying which quilts should receive the special mapped
treatment.
Use the tools in the Surfaces panel to adjust the display style and prescribe specific target
edge lengths and mapped treatment for individual quilts.
Display
The
Display frame provides tools for adjusting the display style of individual quilts
within the
Automatic Surface Mesh command. Select a quilt and change its display style
to one of five options:
Boundaries
(
)
,
Wireframe
(
)
,
Flat
(
)
,
Shaded
(
)
, or
Hidden Line
(
)
. After running the
Automatic Surface Mesh command on the
Global tab, the newly created domains are also rendered using the same display style as
their underlying quilts. For more information about display styles, review the
Attributes section of this User Manual.
Resolution
The
Resolution frame provides tools for creating, assigning, and deleting resolution
filters which allow you to specify target edge lengths on a per-quilt basis.
Note: The Resolution and Mapping frames are mutually
exclusive (i.e. only one frame can be open at a time). This removes confusion as to which
filter type you are currently editing, since both filter types allow you to
set entities explicitly using the Display window.
The Resolution frame provides finer control over the size field used by the Automatic Surface
Mesh functionality by allowing you to assign specific target edge lengths on a per-quilt
basis.
The first row in the Resolution table shows the Global resolution filter,
which contains all quilts by default. The columns of this filter are populated by the settings
on the Global tab and cannot be edited nor can this filter
be deleted.
The buttons (New, Delete, Add to Selection,
,
,
, and
) and
first 4 columns in the table (priority, Set, #, and Name)
all function the same as other filters in the Flashpoint toolset. Please refer to the
Flashpoint Filters section for more information.
Note: Resolution filters are the only filter type within the
Flashpoint toolset that does not currently make use of filter pattern tables. Instead, you
can specify multiple patterns in the Pattern field using a comma separated list. To
edit the pattern for resolution filters, simply double click in the
Pattern column of the Resolution table.
Edit the Pattern column to define a filter pattern containing one or more
comma-delimited wildcard patterns. If a filter's pattern list is empty, the filter is disabled.
Refer to the Wildcard Pattern
Matching section of the Flashpoint Filters page for more information on specifying
wildcard patterns.
Edit the Max. Edge Length column to set the desired maximum edge length for the
resolution filter. Leaving the Max. Edge Length column empty turns the filter off.
Mapping
The
Mapping frame provides tools for creating, assigning, and deleting mapping filters
which allow you to specify which quilts receive special mapped meshing treatment.
The Mapping frame provides controls for fine-tuning which quilts should receive special mapping
treatment. The Mapping table (left) shows all global and
user-defined mapping filters. Selecting a user-defined mapping filter (right)
brings up an additional frame for editing the filter definition.
The Mapping table is similar in structure to the
Resolution table discussed above. As before, the first row in the Mapping
table shows the Global mapping filter, which contains all quilts by default. The
columns of this filter cannot be edited nor can this filter be deleted.
The buttons (New, Delete, Add to Selection,
,
,
, and
) and
first 4 columns in the table (priority, Set, #, and Name)
all function the same as other filters in the Flashpoint toolset. Please refer to the
Flashpoint Filters section for more information.
User-Defined Mapping Filters
Selecting a user-defined filter in the Mapping table brings up a secondary frame
with the same name as the selected filter that contains controls for editing the filter
definition.
Selecting a user-defined filter in the Mapping table (left) brings up a secondary frame
(center and right) with the same name as the filter that contains controls for defining
the filter. The controls differ slightly based on the filter's Type.
Use the Type pull down list to select the desired mapping filter type from
four options:
Use the Max. Aspect Ratio parameter to specify the target maximum aspect ratio for the
quilts assigned to the filter. By default, the Max. Aspect Ratio is set to the value
specified on the Global tab (displayed in gray text
for convenience).
Note: During the Automatic Surface Mesh process, the mapping filter
Max. Aspect Ratio is applied after the stretching filter
Max. Aspect Ratio.
To avoid confusion, it is recommended to use consistent values for both types of filters.
Use the Distribution parameter to control the distribution of points along the short
sides of the mapped domains. Distribution has two options:
- Automatic: Automatically syncs the clustering of points across both short
sides of the mapped surface and also with the clustering on adjacent surfaces.
Automatic is the default setting and is the
preferred option for thin surfaces that maintain a constant width across their length.
- Equal: Applies an equally spaced distribution of points to each short side
of the mapped surface. This option is ideal for thin surfaces that have varying height along
their length (such as tapered trailing edges on wings).
Tip: It is a good idea to use the Adjacent Grid option for
Adjacent Boundary Type whenever you use the Equal option for Distribution
because this will ensure a smooth transition in cell size from the mapped domain to
the adjacent domains.
Use the Adjacent Boundary Type parameter to control how anisotropic cells are influenced
by the mapped surface. Adjacent Boundary Type has two options:
- Automatic: Applies anisotropic clustering on the adjacent surfaces according to the
stretching filter settings for the long edges of the mapped
surface. Automatic is the default option.
- Adjacent Grid: Applies anisotropic clustering on the adjacent surfaces
using a 2D T-Rex
Adjacent Grid
boundary condition. This option should be chosen whenever the
Distribution is set to Equal, since it allows for varying anisotropic cell height
along the length of the long edges.
Use the mapping filter pattern table (highlighted in red) to automatically assign quilts to
a mapping filter based on quilt name pattern matching.
The table at the bottom of the mapping filter's frame displays the set of patterns that determine
which quilts are selected by the filter. This filter pattern table functions similarly to other
filter pattern tables within the Flashpoint toolset. Please refer to the
Filter Pattern Tables and
Wildcard Pattern Matching
sections on the Flashpoint Filters page for more information on defining filter patterns.
Understanding Why A Surface Doesn't Get Mapped
After the Create Surface Mesh command is finished, hovering the mouse over the
domains displays information about whether or not the domain is mapped in the probe area of the
Status Bar. Domains that are
mapped also display the computed subdivision ratio while domains that are unmapped show
information about why it was classified as such. Please click the Mapped Domain Probe
Messages button below to view a table showing the possible probe messages that could be
displayed as well as their meanings.
When you hover over domains while in the Automatic Surface Mesh command, the probe area of the
status bar (red rectangle) displays information about whether or not that domain is mapped.
This image shows a selection of the more common messages. Click on the Mapped Domain Probe
Messages button below to see a complete list of all messages.